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The objectives of the study were: 1) Describe the thematic structure and evolution of the field of physical therapy; 2) identify the main research producers (i.e. countries and institutions); and 3) compare their research output and citation impact. Papers related to physical therapy indexed in Web of Science (2000–2018) were identified to delineate the field, using keywords, journals, and citation networks. VOSviewer software, advanced bibliometric text mining, and visualization techniques were used to evaluate the thematic structure. We collected data about the country and institutional affiliation of all the authors and calculated production and citation impact indicators. 85,697 papers were analyzed. Eleven thematic clusters were identified: 1) "health care and education"; 2) "biomechanics"; 3) "psychosocial, chronic pain and quality of life outcomes"; 4) "evidence-based physical therapy research methods"; 5) "traumatology and orthopedics"; 6) "neurological rehabilitation"; 7) "psychometrics and cross-cultural adaptation"; 8) "gait-balance analysis and Parkinson's disease"; 9) "exercise"; 10) "respiratory physical therapy"; and 11) "back pain." The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were the most productive countries. Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden had the highest citation impact. Our bibliometric visualization approach makes it possible to comprehensively study the thematic structure of physical therapy. The ranking of producers has evolved and now includes China and Brazil. High research production does not imply a high citation impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore students' experiences of physical education (PE) and to gain insight into what contributes to engaging them in PE. Methods: A total of 316 second-year high-school students from five schools participated by completing a school assignment. The data were analyzed according to content analysis. Findings: Two main themes were developed. The first was One-sided emphasis on performance, bodily skills, and assessment with the corresponding sub-themes: Skills and performance; and Assessment, tests, and grading. The second was Wish for play, respite, co-determination, and togetherness with the sub-themes: Play and spontaneity; Respite, Togetherness and cooperation; and Co-determination and engagement. Our findings reveal a wide range of student experiences with PE classes, from a welcome respite in an otherwise sedentary and theoretically dominated day at school and enjoying being physically active with classmates, to frustration about extensive use of tests, lack of mastery, and feelings of exclusion. Conclusion: To be consistent with the values of the Ministry of Education in Norway, we conclude that the content and mode of delivery of PE in schools would benefit from being rethought if the intent is to facilitate children to stay physically active. Norwegian physiotherapists are promoters of health and physical activity across the lifespan. As part of health services in schools, they are in a prime position to optimize the PE experience for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reablement aims to improve the self-dependence of people with or at risk of functional decline. Physiotherapists (PTs) are responsible for assessments, developing interventions and supervising home trainers (HTs), who mostly conduct the reablement training. The content of reablement practice is not clearly described. This study explores how physiotherapy practice is performed in reablement settings and the content of the service provided to reablement users. Methods: Fieldwork was performed in seven Norwegian reablement teams. We conducted observations of seven triads, including PTs, HTs, and reablement users, followed by interviews with the PTs and HTs. We then conducted a systematic content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis: 1) division of labor; 2) assessment; and 3) intervention. Different practices within these three characteristics of practice revealed two typologies of reablement teams. Teams with a fixed division of labor provided limited assessments and a nonspecific approach. Teams with a flexible division of labor were characterized by interdisciplinary collaboration, thorough assessments, and user-tailored interventions. Discussion: Values emphasizing responsivity enable a flexible and individually tailored reablement approach, in contrast to values emphasizing efficiency, which facilitate a nonspecific approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehabilitation following acquired brain injury requires multidisciplinary efforts, including physiotherapy, across health care levels. Recent changes in the organization of health care services in western societies have led to earlier hospital discharge and increased responsibility for rehabilitation in primary care. The aim of this study was to describe and increase knowledge on the variations in physiotherapy practice for people with acquired brain injury across health care levels in Norway. We performed qualitative interviews with physiotherapists and field observations of physiotherapy treatments for 10 rehabilitation trajectories. We also performed systematic analyses using data from field observations, interviews, and hospital discharge records related to perspectives on social practices. The institutionalized rehabilitation context in hospitals promoted a more uniform approach by physiotherapists, emphasizing quality of movement and reacquisition of function. Physiotherapists in primary health care had to balance between interventions aiming to improve quality of movement versus interventions enabling patients to identify coping strategies. The informants highlighted the relevance of contextual surroundings when patients were discharged earlier from the hospital, as these patients' level of function was perceived to be lower. Moreover, the preconditions for providing rehabilitation in primary care challenged physiotherapists to practice and use their knowledge base in novel ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Physiotherapy from an early age is considered important for children with cerebral palsy (CP). In preschool, dedicated aides are responsible for the daily follow-up and training under the supervision of a physiotherapist (PT). Knowledge is sparse regarding what is created and achieved in clinical practice involving triads (i.e. the PT, aide, and child) with respect to the enhancement of practical skills in dedicated aides. The study purpose was to explore form and content in supervision. Methods: Nonparticipating observations were performed on a purposive sample of seven triads, including seven PTs, seven dedicated aides, and seven preschool toddlers with CP with function level III-IV of the Gross Motor Function Classification System. Each triad was video-recorded once. Data consisted of 371 minutes of video recordings analyzed using content analysis and enactive theory on participatory sense-making. Results: From the analysis, three supervision approaches emerged: (1) the Cognitive Supervision approach; (2) the Joint Action Supervision approach; and (3) the Embodied Supervision approach. Each approach gives rise to different types of sense-making processes, ranging from merely reflective ways of knowing through verbal and visual conveyance to mutual embodied ways of knowing through joint actions and physical interplay. To make use of all approaches, PTs require incorporated handling skills and action competence. Conclusion: Supervision is an emergent process where knowledge is transformed through interactions and shared sense-making processes. Implications: Clinicians should be aware of the context-dependent and interactional factors that drive the supervision process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), a chronic musculoskeletal pain condition, is often accompanied by fatigue. In this study, inspired by narrative approaches to health and illness, we explore how women who have regained their health after FMS describe tiredness along a storyline from before they fell ill, through their illness, recovery process, and present-day health. The data derive from qualitative interviews with eight Norwegian women who previously suffered from FMS but who no longer had the condition at the time of interview. We undertook a narrative analysis to understand the complexity of the stories about tiredness and fatigue and on this basis identified a storyline based on four sub-narratives: 1) Alarming but ignored tiredness (before illness); 2) paralyzing fatigue (during illness); 3) making sense of fatigue (recovery process); and 4) integrating tiredness into life (today). The findings highlight participants’ different understandings and meanings of tiredness and fatigue and the ways in which these link past, present, and future. Significantly, a clear distinction between tiredness and fatigue was not always found. Overall, the storyline that emerges from the narratives is about balancing tiredness/fatigue with everyday life, and how this unfolds in different ways across the span of FMS, from falling ill to recovering and regaining health. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The hospitals' outpatient clinics for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are important in the health care. Research regarding physiotherapy in such clinics is limited. The purpose was to investigate how PwMS perceive movement during single sessions of physiotherapy in a hospital's outpatient clinic, and what do these experiences mean for the patient's insight into their movement disturbances? Qualitative research interviews were performed with a purposive sample of 12 PwMS and supplemented with seven videotaped sessions. Content analysis was performed. The results indicate that contextualized perceptions of movement appear to be an essential source for PwMS to gain expanded insight with regard to their individual movement disturbances regardless of their ambulatory status. The contextualization implies that perceptions of movement are integrated with the physiotherapist's explanations regarding optimizing gait and balance or other activities of daily life. Perceptions of improvement in body part movement and/or functional activities are vital to enhancing their understanding of their individual movement disorders, and they may provide expanded insight regarding future possibilities and limitations involving everyday tasks. The implementation of movements, which transforms the perceived improvement into self-assisted exercises, appeared to be meaningful. Contextualized perceptions of improvements in movement may strengthen the person's sense of ownership and sense of agency and thus promote autonomy and self-encouragement. The findings underpin the importance of contextualized perceptions of movement based on exploration of potential for change, as an integrated part of information and communication in the health care for PwMS. Further investigations are necessary to deepen our knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate satisfaction with physiotherapy and perception of change following single physiotherapy consultations in a hospital's outpatient service for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) (PwMS). The consultation included assessment, exploration of treatment, information, and instruction in self-assisted exercises based on the British guidelines for PwMS. Seventy-two PwMS were consecutively included, 54 women and 18 men with a mean age 45 (range 26-80). The Outpatient Experience Questionnaire (OPEQ) was used to record satisfaction; the Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and the Borg's Rating Scale of Perceived Exertion (BRSPE) were used to investigate perceived changes in standing up, sitting down, and walking following the consultation. Sixty-four patients (89%%) returned the OPEQ. The results showed strong satisfaction with physiotherapy regarding both interpersonal and clinical skills (mean 9.4, SD 1.0, best score 10) and no significant differences regarding the level of ambulatory independence, gender, or age. The PGIC indicated perceived short-term improvement for 35 (57%%) patients, with no patients reporting deterioration. The BRSPE showed a significantly lower perception of exertion during walking after the consultation (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Z-2.58, p == 0.010). The study indicates a high level of satisfaction regarding interpersonal and clinical skills, information, and instruction in self-assisted exercises and indicates that perceptions of short-term improvement may occur after single consultations. The study suggests an important role for physiotherapy in hospital outpatient services for PwMS, but further studies are necessary to deepen our understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]